David’s Military Census (Exodus 30:11–16; 1 Chronicles 21:1–6)
1 UST Yahweh was angry with the Israelite people again, and he led David to do something that caused trouble for them. David caused that trouble by saying,“Find out how many soldiers Israel and Judah have.” BSB BSB: Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
2 UST King David said to Joab, the commander of his regular army,“I want you to go with your officers through the territories of all the tribes of Israel, from Dan{ in the far north} to Beersheba{ in the far south}, and count the men who can fight as soldiers. That way I will know how many Israelite men we have who can fight as soldiers in the army.” BSB BSB: So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”
3 UST But Joab replied to the king,“Your Majesty, I hope that Yahweh our God will give us Israelites a hundred times more soldiers than we have now. I hope that you will see this happen{ in your own lifetime}. But I do not think it is a good idea to count how many soldiers we have.” BSB BSB: But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
4 UST But King David insisted that Joab do as he had said, and he ordered the commanders of the army to do it. So they left his court and went out to count the Israelite men who could fight in war. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to register the troops of Israel.
5 UST They crossed the Jordan River and set up their tents south of Aroer, in the middle of the valley. From there they went through the territory of the tribe of Gad, and from there they went{ north} to Jazer. BSB BSB: They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
6 UST Then they went{ north} to Gilead and to the area of Tahtim Hodshi. Then they went to Dan Jaan{ in the far north of Israel}, and then they went{ farther west} to Sidon. BSB BSB: Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.
7 UST Then they went south to Tyre, a city that had high walls around it, and also to all the cities where some Hivites and Canaanites still lived. Then they went to Beersheba, in the desolate area in the southern part of the territory of Judah. BSB BSB: They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.
8 UST It took them nine months and 20 days to finish going throughout the land{ and counting the people}. After that, they returned to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.
9 UST They reported to King David the number of men that they had counted. There were 800, 000 men in Israel and 500, 000 men in Judah who were fit to serve as soldiers in the army. BSB BSB: And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
Judgment for David’s Sin (1 Chronicles 21:7–13)
10 UST But after David’ s officers had counted the fighting men of Israel, David felt very badly that he had told them to do that. He confessed to Yahweh,“When I ordered them to do that, I committed a very serious sin. Please forgive me. But now, Yahweh, I admit that what I did was very foolish.” BSB BSB: After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
11 UST When David got up the next morning, Yahweh gave a message to the prophet Gad. He was a man who helped David know what God wanted him to do. Gad said to David, BSB BSB: When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:
12 UST “Go and tell David that I say he must choose one of three punishments that I will describe. I will punish him with the one that he chooses.” BSB BSB: “Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”
13 UST So Gad went to David and told him that Yahweh had said he would need to choose one of three punishments. He then told David,“You can choose for there to be seven years of famine in Israel. You can choose for your enemies to keep defeating you so badly over the course of three months that your army keeps running away from them. Or you can choose for there to be a plague here in Israel for three days. I will go back and tell Yahweh your answer. So think carefully about what you will choose.” BSB BSB: So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”
14 UST David said to Gad,“All those are very terrible things for me to choose between! But let Yahweh be the one to punish me{ with a plague}, since he is very merciful. Do not let humans be the ones to punish me.” BSB BSB: David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
A Plague on Israel (1 Chronicles 21:14–17)
15 UST So Yahweh sent a plague on the Israelite people. It started that morning and continued for three days. Throughout the territory of Israel there were 70, 000 Israelites who died because of the plague. BSB BSB: So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
16 UST Then the angel who had killed all those people lifted his hand toward the city of Jerusalem in order to cause a plague that would kill many of the people who lived there. But Yahweh grieved about punishing any more people, and said to the angel“Put your hand back down{ and do not cause a plague in Jerusalem}!” When Yahweh said that, his angel was standing near the place where Araunah the Jebusite threshed grain. BSB BSB: But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 UST When David saw the angel who was causing the people to become sick and die, he spoke to Yahweh. He said,“Truly, I am the one who has committed the sin. I have done a very wicked thing, but these people are as innocent as sheep. They have certainly not done anything that is wrong. So you should punish me and my family, not these people!” BSB BSB: When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd, have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”
David Builds an Altar (1 Chronicles 21:18–30)
18 UST That day Gad came to David and told him,“Go to the place where Araunah the Jebusite threshes grain and build an altar to worship Yahweh there.” BSB BSB: And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 UST So David did what Gad told him to do, which was what Yahweh had commanded, and he went there. BSB BSB: So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.
20 UST When Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he came out of his house and lay down on the ground in front of the king{ to honor him}, with his face touching the ground. BSB BSB: When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.
21 UST Araunah said,“Your Majesty, may I ask why you have come to me?” David replied,“I have come to buy this ground where you thresh grain. That way I can build an altar here to Yahweh{ and offer sacrifices on it} so that he will stop the plague that has been killing so many Israelites.” BSB BSB: “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”
22 UST Araunah replied to David,“Your Majesty, please offer to Yahweh whatever you wish. You may take the oxen that you see here and use them for an offering that you burn completely on the altar. And you may take their yokes and the boards that I use for the threshing, which you also see here, and you may use them for the wood that you will burn. BSB BSB: Araunah said to David, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
23 UST Your Majesty, I, Araunah, hereby give all these things to you.” Then he said,“I hope that Yahweh your God will accept your offering and grant your request.” BSB BSB: O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
24 UST But the king said to Araunah,“No, I will not accept these things as a gift. I will pay you for them. I will not take things that have cost me nothing and burn them completely on an altar as offerings to Yahweh.” So David paid 50 shekels of silver to Araunah for the oxen and the ground. BSB BSB: “No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 UST Then David built an altar there to Yahweh. He burned the oxen completely on the altar as an offering. He also offered fellowship sacrifices. Then Yahweh answered David’ s prayers for the people of his land, and he ended the plague that had been killing so many Israelites. BSB BSB: And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.